Taça de Portugal Semi Finals Preview

By: Greg | April 18th, 2007

sptaca The Taça de Portugal (aka the Portuguese Cup or “Goblet of Portugal” per Google’s translator) competition continues today with the semi final match between Sporting CP and Beira Mar at Sporting’s home stadium Estadio Jose Alvalade XXI. Tomorrow’s semi final match pits Braga against Belenenses at Estadio do Restelo, where Belenenses calls home.

For a team in danger of relegation, Beira Mar’s recent form (W / D vs Benfica / L / D) hasn’t been all that bad. Sporting has been flying as of late with five straight wins, including a 1-0 victory over league-leaders Porto and a 2-0 win a few weeks ago against their semi final opponent Beira Mar. Look for this blog’s adopted team (Sporting) to dominate this game. They haven’t had a real test since Porto four games ago and Beira Mar simply aren’t in the same class.

The match tomorrow is the highlight of the semi finals. Belenenses were supposed to be relegated last year but made out due to a technicality. Now they have come into this season with a vengeance, recently leapfrogging their opponent Braga and stealing away fourth place in the table. Braga will come to this game with something to prove. They made it to the round of 16 in this year’s UEFA Cup and have only two wins in their last six league matches. I like Braga in this match simply due to their historical form in much larger European tournaments. I also refuse to believe that Belenenses can continue their recent form of six wins in seven unbeaten matches. Here’s a historical look at each team’s performance in the Taça de Portugal as well as the last time they won the cup:

Sporting CP: 17 wins, last won in 2001/02 season
Belenenses: 3 wins, last won in 1988/89 season
Braga: 1 win, last won in 1965/66 season
Beira Mar: 1 win, 1998/99 season

I know this is completely unrelated but I feel the need to take a small amount of blogspace to ensure that the memory of a special professor from Virginia Tech is preserved and lives on. If reading about this MAN’s life and who he was (a true to life hero) doesn’t move you in some way, you need a serious adjustment. My heart goes out to all who lost someone in this tragic event. May the legacy of Professor Librescu live on.